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American Farm Bureau Announcement

I copied this from OSBA (Oregon State Beekeepers Association) site, another beekeeper posted it who is also a member of BeeSource.

Good news from the American Farm Bureau:

Farm Vehicle Exemptions

The Federal Register has published the attached notice of statutory exemptions from the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) regarding the agency's actions to simplify regulations for farmers and their employees, as required by the new surface transportation reauthorization law, MAP-21. Farm Bureau strongly supported these exemptions.

The following regulations and exemptions took effect October 1:

A covered farm vehicle, including the individual operating that vehicle, shall be exempt from the following federal requirements:

Exemptions do not apply to a covered farm vehicle transporting hazardous materials that require a placard.

The covered farm vehicle must be equipped with a special license plate or other designation by the state in which the vehicle is registered to allow for identification of the vehicle as a farm vehicle by law enforcement personnel.

It should be noted that this law does not specifically exempt a farmer or rancher from any state requirements. There are no longer federal requirements relating to the above-mentioned regulations. Additionally, funding from the federal government to a state cannot be withheld if a state chooses to allow exemptions for agriculture.

Re: American Farm Bureau Announcement

"The covered farm vehicle must be equipped with a special license plate or other designation by the state in which the vehicle is registered to allow for identification of the vehicle as a farm vehicle by law enforcement personnel."

Re: American Farm Bureau Announcement

Re: American Farm Bureau Announcement

I just have to ask, I don't currently have farm plates but am in the process of getting them, If the feds don't have rules and I have N.Y. farm plates and I'm it Nevada, what rules am I required to follow, N.Y. laws/rules or the rules of the state I'm in?? I would have to guess the rules of the state I'm in as Nevada doesn't know the rules of the state I'm from.
Now at one time I had farm plates from a different state and it only allowed me to use them in adjoining states only(for instance), so if I get to nevada and there rules are you can only use them in Nevada, how do I get out of the state I guess I would have to get the state rules for every state I intend to pass through? thanks

mike syracuse ny
I went to bed mean, and woke up meaner. Marshal Dillon

Re: American Farm Bureau Announcement

Originally Posted by jim lyon

Woo Hoo! I gladly stand corrected. This is a real "game changer" Wonder if DOT registration still be required if said farm vehicle is under 26,001 GVW

Of the 9 trucks we run only 3 fall into that area. Plus if you check most states only alow you 150 mile for you farm for a farm tag to be valid. After that all reg apply. I will keep my class A and fill out my log book much less hassle plus I can drive any truck I need to.

Re: American Farm Bureau Announcement

My take on this is that it relieves you from the regs. that the DOT enforces and it does require that you have a farm tag. You probably still need DOT numbers but I dont know that for sure. I printed those new regs. out as well to put in each truck. You can do a lot of work with an under 26,000 lb. truck, thats all we run. Seems to me that if you are running tandem axles and trailers that you are doing a lot for hire and probably cant afford to do much "dead heading" anyway. I have toyed with the idea of buying a tractor-trailer setup but when I do the math on it I come to the conclusion that with $4.00 fuel you need to run loaded all the time and pretty soon you are a trucker not a beekeeper. My solution: keep your phone full of trucker contacts, then load them to 79 grand and make them do some serious hauling while we get some sleep.

"People will generally accept facts as truth only if the facts agree with what they already believe."- Andy Rooney